Read File Bytes Activity

Description

This activity reads the byte content of a file on the server. This activity should only be used to read binary content, such as an image, PDF or audio file. Using text content as input, such as a CSV file, will produce binary output. Binary content is not human readable. The Read File activity should be used for reading text content. Binary content is the raw numbers, known as bytes, that make up a file. More information on the difference between binary and text files can be found here.

Usage

The Read File Bytes activity could be used to read a PDF file on the server.

Inputs

Path

Required

Type: String

The path of the file to read on the server. The file system or network path must be valid and the server administrator must configure the appropriate permissions to allow reading of the file.

Attempting to read a file that does not exist will fail.

Outputs

bytes

Type: Number[]

The byte content of the file.

Bytes are the raw binary values that represent content. A byte array is represented by a list of numbers between 0 and 255. This content is not human readable, and should be used as input to other file activities, such as the Convert Bytes To Text activity.

Properties

For information about the ID, Display Name, and Description properties, see Properties Common to all Activities.

Connectivity Requirements

This activity does not work when the device has intermittent connectivity to the network.